Former major league catcher Mike Piazza has a new book on store shelves, and it includes denials of steroids use, a reaffirmation of his heterosexuality and details of his infamous World Series incident with then-New York Yankees righthander Roger Clemens.

On the issue of performance-enhancing drugs, Piazza claims he never used any illegal substances. However, he admits he used androstenedione and “greenies,” both of which were legal at the time but have since been banned by Major League Baseball.

There has been speculation about Piazza using PEDs, and some feel that contributed to him getting only 57.8 percent of the vote in his first year of Hall of Fame eligibility last month. This despite being considered arguably the greatest hitting catcher of all time.

And the PED allegations aren’t the only ones tossed in his direction. In the early 2000s, there were the rumors that Piazza was gay.

“The whole episode was such a strange, incredible phenomenon ... I still don’t get it. I don’t know where the rumor came from, although I’ve heard many theories, including one that I suppose makes the most sense to me, involving a former teammate and his agent,” Piazza wrote in the book.

But perhaps the most interesting excerpts from the memoir involve Clemens. Piazza and Clemens had issues dating back to a game in July of 2000 when Clemens beaned the New York Mets catcher in the helmet with a pitch.

“I truly believe that if I hadn’t gotten my head down at the last instant, Clemens’ two-seamer would have struck me in the eye and possibly killed me,” Piazza wrote.

Piazza was so upset with Clemens that he took karate lessons, anticipating another run-in with the righthander on the baseball diamond. Indeed, that happened, during Game 2 of the 2000 World Series when Piazza shattered his bat after making contact with a Clemens fastball. Clemens threw part of the bat at Piazza as he ran to first base. But there was no karate; the two little else but jaw back and forth.

“There were complications,” Piazza wrote. “The least of them was the realization that Clemens was a big guy, and I stood a pretty fair chance of getting my ass kicked in front of Yankee Stadium and the world. That was a legitimate concern.”

During his 16-season major league career, Piazza hit .308/.377/.545 with 427 homers and 1,335 RBIs. He was a 12-time All-Star, a 10-time Silver Slugger and the 1993 NL rookie of the year.